The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear CLS Bank, a case concerning patent eligibility for computer-implemented inventions. “It’s universally believed that the Supreme Court needed to weigh in,” explained Finnegan partner Linda J. Thayer. Some in the industry have called for a threshold on what should be patented under Section 101. “There are many computer-implemented inventions that deserve patent protection,” Thayer said. “I do think that the Supreme Court will offer guidance which causes the circuit to reach a middle ground that is tighter and provides a more strict test than advocated by Judge [Randall R.] Rader’s group [at the Federal Circuit].” Thayer concluded that if the Court takes the opportunity to establish a new test for tech patents, “CIOs or software companies would just need to be more strategic about the inventions they choose to pursue and seek professional help in navigating the waters of the new test.”